JOHNS
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1997 Steve Rhodes
I saw JOHNS at the press screening. It opens Friday, January 31. It will be playing at one of the Camera Cinemas in the San Jose area and at the Lumiere Cinemas in San Francisco.
JOHNS
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1997 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
"I am not a prostitute," says young prostitute Donner, played with naivete and sensitivity by Lukas Haas (WITNESS). "I am an entertainer. I do not go in for violence." Life on the street is tough and weird. Today's "date" is an eighty-year-old pervert who gets off by spanking boys.
JOHNS is a frequently shocking, intensely real, and always poignant look at the lives of young hustlers. First time director and writer Scott Silver makes many of the mistakes of newcomers but, nevertheless, shows much promise with his troubling, touching, and sometimes humorous view of homeless kids.
Silver's background is as a documentarian, and it shows. In the press kit he says he got the idea during his first Christmas in Hollywood where the temperature was in the 90s, and "I felt utter desolation, despair, and depression." His approach to developing the story for the movie was to interview young hustlers, paying them $20 each to hear their stories. From these ideas, acknowledged in the credits, he derived the script.
JOHNS happens on the day before Christmas. John, played quite believably by David Arquette (SCREAM), is sleeping in the park when his expensive, lucky shoes and his money in them are stolen. The camera focuses in tight for close-ups as his long dirty feet go running in vain after the thief. John gets some golf shoes with cleats from his first trick of the day, Danny Cohen, played by John C. McGinley (from THE ROCK). John clanks along with these golf shoes through the rest of the picture.
Tomorrow is John's 21st birthday, and he has long had plans to stay one night on vacation at the fancy Park Plaza Hotel. Now he is broke. But it gets worse. Because he took money during a drug deal gone bad, Jimmy Warlock (Terence Dashon Howard) is looking for him to collect the money -- one way or another.
Donner is John's happy-go-lucky friend. Donner has the innocence of someone new to the street. His parents disowned him because he was gay, and now he is picking up tricks to make ends meet. Although there are some similarities to MIDNIGHT COWBOY, John and Donner are much more clean-cut looking.
Although I did laugh a few times, mainly I felt sorry for these two kids. The best parts of the show are the musical interludes where they go about their everyday business while some dreamy tune is playing. The songs have all the happiness that the prostitutes lack.
The supporting cast is strong, except for Alanna Ubach (from the delightful DENISE CALLS UP) who plays John's girlfriend. Ubach's performance is unbelievably strident.
Arguably the best performance is by an actor in the minuscule role of hotel registration desk clerk Paul Truman. Richard Kind takes what has all of the markings of being the most cliched part in the film and gives Paul great warmth and compassion. I cannot say more or I would give away some of the most precious moments in the film, and poor John needs his few good times to preserve his dignity.
Much is wrong and infuriating with JOHNS. The cinematography has an intentional low budget look in the constant outdoor scenes. The background is so overexposed that you feel like you will be blinded. Although the film has a good narrative drive, it is too predictable. The ending seems obvious from the start. Nevertheless, the characters are sympathetically drawn so that every time their predictable tragedies arise, they touch your heart.
JOHNS runs a fast 1:36. It is rated R. There is explicit sex, drug usage, strong profanity, sadomasochism, violence, and quite adult themes. I do not think they show is for kids, even teenagers, but if teenagers do go, they need to be quite mature. I give the film a thumbs up and ** 1/2.
**** = A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = Totally and painfully unbearable picture.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: January 13, 1997
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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